HOLUNGER 
pH8.5 

MILL RUN F3-1543 




AN EULOGY 



LIFE, CHARACTER AND PUBLIC SERVICES 



GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR. 



DELIVERED AT THE COMMISSIONERS' HALL, SPRING GARDEN. 



JULY aOUi, 1S50 



BY JOSEPH ALLISON, ESQ. 



**^' 



PHILADELPHLV : 

.1. II. fONES, PRINTER. NO. .3 1 CARTER'S ALLEY 

1850. 



'^•t 



AN EULOGY 



UPON THE 



LIFE, CHARACTEK AND PUBLIC SERVICES 



GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR. 



DELIVERED AT THE COMMISSIONERS' HALL, SPRING GARDEN, 



JULY 29th, 1850. 



BY JOSEPH ALLISON, ESQ. 



PHILADELPHIA : 
J. H. JONES, PRINTER, NO. 34 CARTER'S ALLEY. 

1850. 






'Of 



'*! 






Spring Garden, Aug-. 12, 1850. } 
Clerk'' s Office, Commissioners of the District of Spring Garden. ^ 

Joseph Allison, Esq. : — Sir,— At a Stated Meeting of the Board, held 
on Monday evening, August 5th, 1850, the following resolution was 
unanimously adopted : 

Resolved, That the thanks of this Board be tendered to Joseph Allison, 
Esq., for his able and eloquent Address, delivered before the Commis- 
sioners and Citizens of the District on the 29th ult.,and that a copy of the 
same be requested for publication. 

Extract from the minutes. John N. Henderson, Clerk. 



To the Board of Commissioners of the District of Spring Garden .• 

Gentlemen, — The resolution of the Board, asking a copy of the Address 
I had the honor to deliver, at their request, touching the life and character 
of the late lamented President of the United States, has been received by 
me. With pleasure I comply with the wish of the Board as therein 
expressed, regretting only that the remarks herewith transmitted are not 
more worthy of the subject, and the flattering terms by which they are 
characterized in the resolution. 

I am, gentlemen, very respectfully yours, 

Joseph Allison. 
Jugiist 15, 1850. 



ADDRESS. 



Ladies and Gentlemen: — It is sad to reflect upon the changes 
that are continually taking place around us. With what rapidity 
the shadows of life come and go ; writing upon all things as they 
flit before us, " the fashion of this life passeth away." And, not- 
withstanding the absolute conviction that stamps itself on eveiy 
mind, of the common end and destiny of the present order of 
things, we often blind ourselves to the reality, seeming to forget 
that immortality belongs not to this life, and wonder and weep 
when suddenly bereft of our treasures ; or, if perchance, some 
one object around which our affections have centred with more 
than their ordinary power, that has been spared to us a little 
longer than is usual, should at last exhibit the evidences of ap- 
proaching dissolution, how anxiously we watch over it, fearful 
lest the destroyer should become hungry for his prey. Like one 
who has for many years beheld the majestic oak of the forest, 
beneath whose branches many of the happy hours of childhood 
have been passed, in the sportive playfulness of innocence, tower- 
ing above all that surrounded it, playing with the lightning, and 
breasting the storms of a century, as it stretched out its arms, 
and raised its head towards the sky, has felt sad and sorrowful as 
he gazed upon the certain evidences of its decay, or learned that 
the whirlwind, in its mad revelry, had seized in its embrace the 
stately tree, and dashed it prostrate to the earth, there to moul- 
der and decay. 



( 6 ) 

Yet, how faint and shadowy are such emotions, compared with 
those which all experience, when one whom we looked to as the 
representative of our free nationality, whose manly virtues and 
heroic deeds had endeared him to us, whose name and reputation 
had become the proud heritage of his countrymen, in an unlooked 
for hour is swept from the stage of action, and compelled to lay 
down the sceptre of goverfiment, placed in his hands by those 
whose pride it was to honor him. Such is the occasion of our 
meeting to-day, surrounded by the tokens of mourning, to give 
expression to the sorrow that fills every heart, occasioned by the 
demise of the chosen head of our nation, the late lamented Presi- 
dent of the United States. From among a nation of twenty, 
millions of freemen, death has claimed as his own, the most eie- 
vated in position ; upon whom all eyes were fixed in the existing 
crisis of our country's peril, as peculiarly fitted by the sterling 
integrity, sound judgment, and unbending firmness with which he 
was gifted in so eminent a degree, to control and direct, if he 
could not calm the impending storm. When we heard that trea- 
son had been boldly proclaimed in the halls of Congress, by some 
of the elected representatives of the people ; that excited pas- 
sions, conflicting interests, and sectional animosities, had endan- 
gered the safety of our honored confederacy of free and sovereign 
States, instinctively we turned to him who had been called to the 
head of the government, with confidence and hope that all would 
yet be well under his prudent and judicious management. But, 
Zachary Taylor is no more ; he has been called away from the 
troubles by which he w^as surrounded : his last battle on earth has 
been fought, and the hero of many a gory fieli! sleeps beneath his 
well-earned laurels, whilst the nation is left to mourn the loss of 
one who enjoyed her fullest confidence, and had been crowned 
with her hicrhest honors. 



( 7 ) 

On every hand we behold the tokens of grief; and sadly falls 
upon the ear, touchmg a responsive chord in every breast, the 
plaintive chanting of the funeral dirge, awakening the silent 
echoes of the land, and calling us to the contemplation of our 
own and our country's loss ; whilst the solemn tread of impos- 
ing pageant — the somid of muffled bells and drums, the habili- 
ments of mourning that shroud alike the imposing halls of our 
National Councils and the cottages of the humblest of our citizens, 
tell of a sorrow as general as it is sincere ! A people, striving to 
give utterance to the feelings that oppress them, at this manifes- 
tation of the power of the God of Nations, that mocks the pride, 
and dissipates the calculations of men. In all that is transpiring 
around us, in all that we see and hear, there is no murmuring at 
the dealings of Almighty Wisdom. His hand hath smitten us, 
and it is well! Every head is bowed, and every heart submissive 
to the stroke that has taken from us a beloved Chief Magistrate ; 
and whilst we sorrow over his grave, we rebel not ; for in moist- 
ening with our tears the earth that now covers him, we but yield 
a fitting tribute to the w^orth of one, to whom the world will pay 
her homage, as not only great but good. Nor is it to be wondered 
at, when we reflect upon his many shining virtues, and amiable 
traits of character, that General Taylor should have drawn to 
himself the affections of his countrymen, in a degree unequalled 
since the days of Washington. Jefferson was the idol of a party ; 
the Adams' challenged admiration for their varied accomplish- 
ments and unblemished reputations ; Madison and Munroe were 
respected for their talents and position ; Jackson was revered by 
his friends, but hated by his enemies, and their name was legion ; 
Harrison died lamented but untried ; Van Buren was elevated to 
power by an influence that afterwards hurled him to the dust ; 
and Polk was respected, more for his private virtue than public 



( 8 ) 

talents. But it remained for Zachary Taylor, by a happy union 
of those graces, that in all ages have challenged the admiration 
of mankind, that have only to be known to be appreciated, to 
centre in himself the confidence of all, and the affection and love 
of a large majority of the American people. A child of destiny, 
an instrument in the hands of Providence for the accomplishment 
of important results, combining in his character so many of the 
elements of true greatness, is it to be wondered at that he became 
the pride and boast, the idol of his countrymen ? But a few 
years since and he was almost unknown, except in his own im- 
mediate circle. Placed by the orders of Government, who were 
much better acquainted with his qualifications as an ofl[icer than 
were his countrymen generally, in command of the Army of Occu- 
pation, composed of a mere handful of men, opposed by over- 
whelming numbers, he cut his way through the pride and flower 
of the Mexican force, advanced from victory to victory, and 
manifested at every step of his progress, an indomitable resolu- 
tion, a bravery and skill in war seldom surpassed ; and above all, 
a sense of justice to his gallant compatriots, that at once marked 
him out as the man of his age — gained for him an unbounded 
applause at home, and wrung a reluctant acknowledgment of his 
merit from the ablest generals of Europe, causing even the con- 
queror of Napoleon to exclaim, " General Taylor is a general in- 
deed." But in nothing was his greatness more strikingly mani- 
fest, than in the modesty with which he bore the honors which 
were showered upon him ; in every instance, acknowledging that 
to the chivalry and noble-daring of his officers and men, was the 
country indebted for the signal and glorious triumph of our arms ; 
exhibiting the rare spectacle of a general victorious, triumphant, 
resisting every effort to place upon his brow the victor's crown, 
and with all the grace of modesty, that reioices more in confer- 



( 9 ) 

ring honors upon others than in receiving them ourselves, he bound 
the laurels around the heads of those who with him had fought 
and conquered. Victory could not intoxicate ; success, the most 
dazzling, could not blind the judgment of the successful warrior 
— pointing to his soldiers, covered with the smoke and dust of 
battle, or bearing upon their persons the sad evidences of recent 
bloody strife — he would exclaim, these are they who bore the 
heat and burthen of the day, who by their daring and bravery, 
snatched victory from the very jaws of defeat — go, honor them 
— they are worthy of your gratitude. Is it to be wondered at, 
then, that those who were able to appreciate a manifestation of 
one of the noblest, as it is among the rarest of virtues, should 
give to him without reserve, their confidence and love? And 
more especially is this true of the gallant army itself. General 
Taylor knew upon what he trusted, when in a most fearful ren- 
counter, a regiment of infantry was ordered forward to resist an 
impetuous charge of Mexican lancers ; riding up to his men, he 
said: — "Soldiers, I place myself in your square." Who then 
could falter ? Was there a man among them that would not 
have bared his breast to receive the lance, aimed at the life 
of his gallant general ? Travelling in the spring of 1847, 
across the State of Illinois, we stopped at a house that stood 
alone in a large prairie ; looking around for something to while 
away the hour of preparation for dinner, I saw laying upon the 
floor a paper, which, upon examination, I found to be part of a 
letter written by a member of one of those intrepid Illinois regi- 
ments, who covered themselves all over with glory, upon the 
bloody field of Buena Vista ; it was written after that terrible 
fight, and in its own rough way, described the trials and hard- 
ships of a Mexican campaign, the sad evidences of which, the 
writer said, he would ever bear in his own person, should he 



( 10 ) 

live to get home ; of this he said he was not sanguine ; but, 
continued the letter, I have one request to make of you, Colonel, 
it is my only one, and in his own language, " I make it as if it 
were my last. It is this. If ever Old Zack comes up for an 
office, I want you and the boys to do all you can, and give him 
a lift." General Taylor had become the object of his supreme 
affection, for the advancement of whose future glory, friends, 
family, all were forgotten. This is but a single instance of the 
devotion of those who fought under his command ; they admired 
him for his bravery, but they did more ; they loved him for that 
unaffected simplicity that could participate in their joys, that 
could enter into their trials and sufferings, and sympathise with 
the humblest soldier of his army. 

They felt, too, that they were sharers with him in his well 
deserved glory, and that it would be to them, and their children 
after them, a matter of just pride to be able to say that they had 
fought by the side of the hero of the Rio Grande. 

When the brave Mississippians, who, in his last great fight, 
had more than once rolled back the tide of war, and saved the 
gallant army from defeat ; whose prodigies of valor, fighting 
against immense odds, and almost in the face of despair, were 
the themes of universal praise, were about to return to their 
homes, and had come to bid their general farewell ; he attempted 
to address them, but, as he gazed upon their ranks, thinned by 
disease and battle, and beheld, in the crippled forms before him, 
at how great a sacrifice the glory and triumph of that day had 
been purchased, his emotions became too strong for utterance, — 
the recollection of their deeds of noble daring overpowered the 
old soldier; with tears streaming down his war-worn cheeks, he 
faltered out, " March on, boys, march on ; I can't speak." .Thus 
it ever was ; the stern realities of war passed over him, leaving 



( 11 ) 

iiim with all the freshness and juvenescence of his early days, 
open, frank, honest and tender hearted. His soldiers learned to 
look up to him as children to a parent ; ever ready to share the 
hardships of a campaign with the humblest of his fellows, and 
claiming nothing that was not common to all. Who could repin?, 
when he divided with them the privation and toil of their march, 
or breasted by their side, or at their head, the battle's fiercest, 
wildest, bloodiest revel ? When necessity demanded it, he could 
school himself to look upon death unmoved; friends might fall 
around him like leaves scattered by the autumnal winds ; the 
bayonet gleam, the cannon belch out its loud toned thunder, 
ladened with the messengers of death, and battle in all its wild 
and savage fury rage around him, yet calm and unmoved, he 
directed the storm, and aimed the bolts that crowned his arms 
with victory. But when the noise of the conflict was hushed, 
M'ho more tender in his ministrations to the suffering? Who 
more gentle and self-sacrificing ? Kindness was a law of his 
nature ; it was manifested in his every action ; it shone most beau- 
tiful and radiant upon every feature of the countenance of the aged 
chief. It was this very regard for the welfare of those under his 
command that enabled him to put on the appearance of stoicism ; 
for well he knew, that the lives of his soldiers in his fearful strug- 
gle on the banks of the Rio Grande, for whose safety he was in 
a great degree responsible, hung upon his own bearing ; to falter 
for a moment in a contest of such unequal numbers, was equiva- 
lent to defeat, with its fearful consequences of rout and slaughter; 
and the pressure once 3'ielded to, vain would have been the effort 
to stem the maddened torrent that would have overwhelmed the 
command, in revenge for the disgrace so often suffered at their 
hands. 

But it is time now to turn and review the leading incidents m 



( 12 ) 

the life of General Taylor — for his history is part of the history 
of our country — and from it important lessons may be gathered, 
that ought not to be lost upon his countrymen. "He has left a 
bright example, which addresses itself, with pecuhar force, to 
the young and rising generation ; for it tells them there is a path 
to the highest degree of renown, straight onward, steady, with- 
out change or deviation." 

Such was the language of the late distinguished Senator from 
Massachusetts. Those who seek political distinction may gather, 
from the example before them, how true it is, that virtue is their 
only sure foundation. Let them learn 

" That chance may place the laurel on th}' brow, 

Or chance may snatch it from thee; — 

But in a contest with thyself be resolute, 

And the virtuous impulse shall always be victorious !" 

That in striving to climb the eminence of fame and glory, the 
paths of which are open alike to all, he only can attain a perma- 
nent position who adheres firmly, inflexibly to the right — not as 
the serpent scales the mountain top, by dragging its form along 
the ground, taking advantage of every accidental circumstance 
to aid its ascent, now winding around each shrub and bush, or 
clinging to each rock and crag that offers in the way — but rather 
imitate the eagle in his daring flight, when he seeks his home 
upon the cloud-capt summit of some towering peak, who, fixing 
his eye upon the blazing glories of the sun, mounts on out- 
stretched wing, nor pauses, nor falters once, till he rests upon his 
mountain eyrie, and gazes calmly upon the world beneath him, 

As illustrating this important truth, the life of General Taylor 
will be pointed to, so long as freedom claims her worshippers, 
and virtue attracts the admiration of mankind. 

Born in Oinnge county, Virginia, after the struggle of the revo- 



( 13 ) 

lution had ended, but yet sufficiently near to that eventful period 
to receive from parental lips the history of those battles, trials, 
defeats and victories, which ended in the establishment of the 
liberties of our country. His father was a soldier of the revolu- 
tion ; a colonel in the continental army ; the friend, the com- 
patriot in arms of Washington ; we may, therefore, well suppose 
that much of that true patriotism that so prominently marked the 
character of the illustrious deceased, and was manifested in every 
public act that distinguished his long and eventful career, resulted 
from the teachings of home. Doubtless his mother often 
impressed upon his mind the paramount claims of his country ; 
the duty of entire devotion of life, fortune and honor, to her ser- 
vice ; for such was the stern virtue of those days, that mothers 
did not hesitate to gird the sword upon their sons — and wives 
sent forth the chosen of their love, to aid in driving the invaders 
from our shores. Who, therefore, shall determine the effect of 
those revolutionary traditions and inculcations of duty, sung to 
him first, perhaps, as an infant lullaby, and repeated afterwards, 
in his riper years, in moulding the almost faultless character of 
him we now deplore. 

In early life, the father of Zachary Taylor removed with his 
family to Kentucky, then known as the " bloody ground," where 
savage rivalry struggled for the mastery, and often bathed in 
blood what is now one of the fairest portions of our land ; this 
was a dangerous but instructive school for the embryo hero ; and 
in this, as in all the events of his early life, is seen the hand of a 
wise Providence protecting him — training and developing his 
character, that he might be fitted to work out the destiny in 
store for him. Here he lived, exposed to all the risks of a bor- 
der location, pursuing the peaceful occupation of a farmer, with 
but little, so far as we are able to learn, to break the monotony 



( 14 ) 

of his quiet life. When, however, the treason of Burr began to 
excite suspicion, he enrolled himself as a member of a volunteer 
company raised in Kentucky, to oppose the design of that gifted, 
but misguided man. Soon, however, the alarm subsided, and he 
laid aside his sword, and resumed the guidance of his plough. In 
1808, being then twenty-four years of age, he was appointed to 
a lieutenancy in the U. S. Army, made vacant by the death of a 
brother. In 1810 he was married to the estimable partner of 
his eventful life, who has been left to tread alone her pathway to 
the tomb, preceded by him, who, for forty years, washer reliance 
and support. But let us not tread lightly on sacred ground. God 
alone can bind up the bruised and almost broken heart, and 
assuage the poignancy of grief; and as w^e stand thus at a 
respectful distance, let the silent manifestation of a nation's sym- 
pathy flow gently towards the bereaved one, and perchance she 
may smile again. When the fury of the storm shall have passed 
away, the head now bowed with sorrow may be once more 
raised, and learn to lean, with something of hope and joy, upon 
the tender shoots that have grown to strength and maturity 
around her own hearth-stone, nurtured into vigor by her own 
maternal love. 

In 1812, having been promoted to a captaincy, the subject of 
our notice was placed in command of Fort Harrison, on the 
Wabash river. Captain Taylor had under him but fifty men, 
with whom to defend his stockade fort, most of whom were dis- 
abled by sickness ; a terrible storm of Indian warfare was about 
to burst upon our western frontier ; the emissaries of England, in 
anticipation of a rupture with our country, had, for some time, 
been busy in stirring up the worst passions of the savages, inciting 
tiiem to deeds of rapine and murder, at the recital of which 
humanity is appalled; the same system of barbarous cruelty which 



( 15 ) 

the eloquent Chatham, in the British Parliament, had, years before, 
denounced as unworthy a civilized nation. To keep in check the 
Indians of that region, restrain, if he could not altogether prevent, 
the ferocity of a warfare that spares neither age, sex or condition, 
that revels amid the smoking ruins of the w^hite man's home, 
plunges its murderous tomahawk into the brow of the lovely and 
unoffending wife, and smiles with savage joy, when its scalping 
knife encircles the brow of tender and helpless infancy. This 
was the responsible charge of the young soldier ; how well he 
fulfilled his trust, let the gallant defence of his position answer ; 
it is enough, that amid the conflagration of his buildings, the fierce 
onslaught of a vastly superior Indian force, the paralyzation by 
fear, and even the desertion of some of his feeble band, he made 
good his defence, and repulsed his foe with considerable loss. 
The courage, self-possession and judgment of Captain Taylor, 
saved the post from what seemed certain destruction, and gained 
for him the appointment of Major by brevet. 

This is an important point in the history of our late Pre- 
sident, as it was the first occasion, that called into full play 
those distinguished traits of character, that so peculiarly marked 
him as a man and soldier, and that afterward displayed upon a 
more extended field of operation, gained for their possessor a 
w^orld-renowned reputation. As illustrative of the character of 
General Taylor, allow me to refer to an incident, which occurred 
during his early connection with the army : whilst in the 
discharge of the duties connected with his profession, at Jef- 
ferson Barracks, located in the county of Cumberland, in this 
State, a trifling diflSculty or misunderstanding arose between 
himself and another person, who, aware of his intended de- 
parture with a detachment of recruits, determined to annoy 
him by an arrest, when he should have crossed the Susque- 



16 



hanna river and landed in the county of Dauphin. The moment, 
however, that the command touched the Dauphin shore, Taylor 
ordered his men to form a hollow square, placed himself in the 
centre of it, and in that quiet, non-resistant manner marched 
away from the disappointed officer. 

After the termination of the war of 1812, no active service was 
demanded of him, until the Black Hawk war of 1832, during 
which he rendered important and valuable aid in the suppression 
of that outbreak, and afterward in 1837, defeated the Serainoles 
at Okee-cho-bee, with great loss to ihem. This was one of the 
hardest fought battles of the Florida war ; for three hours were 
the Indians enabled to protract the struggle, owing to the advan- 
tage of their position ; in the midst of the iron tempest of that 
day, Taylor moved unharmed, inspiring courage wherever he 
went, until victory perched upon his banner. 

In 1846 war broke out between this country and Mexico, and 
General Taylor was ordered to the Rio Grande with some 3000 
troops; the events that led to the first conflict of arms, on the 
field of Palo Alto, are familiar to all. First, we heard that he 
had marched with part of his force, some 2000 men, to Point Isa- 
bel, to procure supplies for his army — but what was to be his 
fate none could tell ; the Mexicans in force had crossed the river 
to intercept his return, and time alone could bring to us the issue 
of that inevitable struggle. All were ready to ask, would Gen. 
Taylor be able to contend successfully with his foe? And though 
hope filled every heart, yet many could not but fear for the fate 
of the gallant little band and their noble commander. We all 
have realised, yet no one can describe, the tumultuous joy that 
animated every bosom, when the news came that Taylor was 
victorious. Twice had he met the enemy, and though they num- 
bered three to one, had chosen their own positions, and fought 



( 17 ) 

with bravery and resolution, yet had they been defeated with 
great loss, routed and driven in disorder across the river. It w^as 
enough to know that our army w^as safe, and the glory of oup 
arms not only untarnished, but shone with an increased splendor, 
our national character vindicated by deeds of noble daring seldom 
equalled in the annals of war. Senator King, of Alabama, now 
Vice President of the United States, upon a late occasion, held 
the following language : " It was my fortune. Senators, to be 
in Europe at the time when the news reached there that the gal- 
lant general of our forces on the Rio Grande, the late President 
of the United States, w^as surrounded by an over\vhelming force. 
He commanded a small, but gallant band. Every American 
heart beat whh anxiety and fear. We felt as Americans should 
feel, that a reverse then would cast, in some degree, a cloud over 
the country of our birth. When the news reached us that the 
gallant general of that little band had marched from his position, 
regardless of the danger, had retraced his footsteps, and con- 
quered the foe, no man but he who was away from his country, 
in a foreign land, could have felt what we, as American citizens, 
felt at those tidings. Senators, the gallantry of that man was 
appreciated not only by his countrymen, but was felt and appre- 
ciated by the first military men of Europe." 

But why follow up the account of his triumphs, are they not 
a part of our country's history ; and are they not written upon 
the tablets of the memory of all present ? How^ he stormed and 
carried the fearful heights and battlements of Monterey ; poured 
his intrepid legions over the w^alls of the Citadel, Fort Soldado, 
Independencia and Federation Hills : swept the garrison from 
the Bishop's Palace ; drove the enemy from post to post, until 
hemmed in bv the resistless foe, who liad cut his way into the 
•2 



18 



lieart of llie city, through opposing walls of solid masonry, 
Ampudia surrendered when he could no longer resist the impetu- 
ous assaults of the army of the Republic of the North. 

But it remained for General Taylor to fill up the full measure 
of his military renown at the mountain pass of Buena Vista ; 
where for two days he successfully resisted the advance of 
Mexico's most talented commander; with undisciplined, half- 
trained soldiers, numbering about 4,000 combatants, he opposed 
a resistance so stubborn and unyielding, that 20,000 Mexicans, 
fighting as they believed, for their altars, their hearths and native 
land, were compelled to retire before one who had fully made up 
his mind to conquer or die in the struggle. When some one, 
fearing the issue of the fight, suggested the propriety of a retreat, 
let the answer of the noblest Roman of them all never be forgotten : 
"Retreat," he repeated, as he raised himself in his saddle and 
gazed over the field strewn with his disabled and dying soldiers, 
"Sir, my wounded are behind me, and I will never pass them 
alive." At the close of the second day's contest, when his army 
was saved from a rout by Bragg's pouring into the ranks of the 
advancing enemy, under the immediate eye and coimnand of 
General Taylor, "a little more grape," and the wearied soldier 
rested on his arms, faint with cold, hunger and fatigue, waiting 
for the dawning of day to renew the fight, the oflficers of 
(Jeneral Taylor waited on him, for the purpose of inducing him 
to fall back from his position ; his reply was, "go to your posts, 
if the enemy will meet us to-morrow, we will fight him ; and 
make up your minds, gentlemen, to the alternative of victory or 
death." 

The morning, however, showed that the enemy had retreated 
from his position, (h-ciiding tlic r(^sult of a third eiicountPi'. 



( i^> ) 

Here in eliect lermiiicited the military caieer of General Taylor. 
The war ended, he retired to his plantation, and there would 
have been glad to remain, had he not been called, like his great 
exemplar, to the head of the government. Unsolicited on his 
part, the office sought him ; and acting upon the belief, that it 
was his duty to obey, when his country called, he accepted the 
trust ; placing himself on the broad American platform, looking 
on his country as a unit, disregarding the behests of party, and 
having no sectional predilections that could interfere with the 
proper discharge of the duties of his office, on the 4th of Mai'ch, 
1849, was inducted into the Presidential chair. 

From almost the first hour of his official career, he was beset 
with unprecedented difficulties ; the elements of sectional discord 
had rallied their forces for one of the most fierce and protracted 
contests that has ever been waged between the North and the 
South, and which, up to the present time, has thwarted the 
legitimate ends of the government, and seriously endangered the 
integrity of the Union. 

General Taylor was by birth and education a Southerner, him- 
self a slaveholder ; yet as I have heard from his own lips, he 
looked upon the institution as a serious evil. Never, (said that 
noble old man,) would I plant slavery on a single foot of terri- 
tory now free ; a sentiment worthy the head of a great and free 
people ; and because he would have maintained it as the honest 
conviction of his judgment, sanctioned by the better sympathies 
of his nature, what a storm of reproach was heaped upon him, 
even by those who claimed to be of his own political faith ? It 
will be well, if the enemies of Zachary Taylor shall soon be for- 
gotten, else they may not easily be forgiven. 

That there was, and is yet, danger to be apprehended from the 



( 20 ) 

distracted state of affairs at Washington, none can doubt ; the 
fraternal bonds that have hitherto united us have been greatly- 
weakened, and the federal compact may be rent in twain by the 
violence of sectional differences ; yet amid all the doubt and fear 
that has gathered over us. the lovers of the Union, as one man, 
whatever their political differences, turned to the late President, 
with confidence and hope, who, though kind and gentle, was yet 
as firm and immoveable as the beetling cliff, when duty required 
it at his hands. Wo would have betided the men who would 
have dared to lay violent hands upon the ark of our political 
safety, whilst its chosen and sworn guardian kept watch around 
it ; and well did those who plotted disunion, know the temper of 
the man, his strict conscientiousness, high-toned honor and 
inflexibility of purpose. In the only interview it was my good 
fortune to have with him. General Taylor expressed himself fully 
and strongly on this subject. " No, no," said he, " the Union 
must not and cannot be dissolved." "I have," he remarked, 
"told some of my Southern friends, that I have not lived to my 
time of life without committing perjury, to do so now. That I 
had taken a most solemn oath to defend the Constitution and the 
Laws ;" and though he could imagine no duty that he might be 
called upon to perform so unpleasant as this would have been to 
him ; "yet," said he, "if it is forced upon me, with all the power 
that God and the government arm me, I will make good my oath." 
But he is gone now, and the destinies of our country have passed 
into other and untried hands. Who can satisfactorily answer the 
question, — Watchman ! what of the night ? 

When Christopher Columbus was prosecuting his voyage, in 
search of a new world, his sailors, disappointed at not earlier 
obtaining the object of their search, and finding themselves daily 



( -^1 ) 

plunging further into the unknown wilderness of waters, mutinied, 
and refused to obey their commander's orders. The vessel, 
abandoned to the mercy of the winds and waves, would have 
been dashed to pieces upon the breakers, had not Columbus 
seized the helm and put his ship upon the course ; and whilst he 
stood at his post, faint and weary with watching, the joyful cry 
was heard, "Land ! land !" So it was with us : at a dark and 
desponding period, a commander had seized the helm of State, 
guided we doubted not by an all-wise Providence, whom we 
hoped would have piloted us safely through the breakers of 
political and sectional strife, and that under his mild, firm 
government, all would have heard the glad shout of "Peace! 
peace !" but ere our vessel had reached the hoped for haven, 
" the captain was swept from the deck," and now all is doubt 
and uncertainty. May it not be well to ask ourselves, why is 
this ? Did we not rely with too much confidence on man for the 
guidance and support of our country, or did we forget there is a 
Power above us all, in whose hands are the destinies of nations, 
and of men ? 

But it is not meet that we should indulge in useless lamenta- 
tions, and bewail our loss with despondency and gloom. There 
is too much in the history of the past to permit us to doubt, that 
the arm that has sustained those who have preceded us, from 
the landing of the Pilgrims on the bleak shores of New England, 
to the present hour, will be withdrawn from us now. And 
though he who was in a great degree our dependence and trust 
has been taken away, all will yet be w^ell for the cause of civil 
and religious freedom. The Union shall and will be preserved, 
and our free institutions gain permanency and strength, by reason 
of their present trial. 



( 22 ) 

Yet It is inopei-, wlieii one occupying the elevated position so 
lately filled by the illustrious tieceased, and possessing the many 
attractive qualities that endeared him to all who came within the 
circle of his influence, is suddenly called to his rest, that we pon- 
der the latter end of such an one, and learn how a consciousness 
of duty well performed, can rob death of his terrors, and shed a 
halo of fadeless glory around the flickering light of the great and 
o-ood. 

The death of General Taylor was like the gradual declension 
of the sun, as it sinks to rest upon its couch of burnished gold, 
without a cloud to hide or obscure a single ray of its fading- 
beauty. Thus passed away the chosen of our nation — the w-arrior 
resistless in battle — the leader of victorious armies — the President 
of our young Republic — whose rectitude of purpose in all the 
varied relations of life, public or private, enabled him to meet his 
inevitable fate with composure, to look death in the face, and 
await his near approach with the resolution of one wdiose con- 
science had no work, save that of approval, to perform in his 
last and trying hour. A fitting end to a well spent life I His 
aim ever seemed to be, to discharge his duty with fidelity, and to 
meet fearlessly whatever responsibilities were thrown upon him. 
His last review of life enabled him to pass a truthful judgment on 
his own actions, and to stand acquitted, when it would have been 
worse than folly to have deceived either himself or others. 

How often it occurs, that what are deemed the creations of 
fancy, are but the truthful delineations of nature, and describe 
life with more accuracy than some of its most studied and labored 
pictures. The most eminent of American wn-iters in this field of 
literature, has drawn and maintained with a most charming con- 
sistency, through a number of his works, the character of one 



( '^- ) 

intended to illustrate a pure, honest, truthful, sterling man, reared 
amid the trying scenes of a border life at home, and at rest only, 
when alone with his Creator in the solemn silence of the wood, 
or ranging the boundless prairie of the West. Who saw and 
acknowledged the power and wisdom of God, in the gentle 
breeze, or the tempest's fury — in sunshine or shade — in the ripple 
of the flowing stream, or in the roar and thunder of the resistless 
water-fall — in all nature, as it lived and breathed around him. 
The seductions of passion — the allurements of glory — the hope of 
gain or reward, were alike unavailing to lead him from the path 
of duty. Firmly and inflexibly he adhered to the right ; and 
depending upon a life that knew no turning to the one side or the 
other, though he knew little of the speculative theories of reli- 
gion, he always said he thought he would be able to answer to 
his name when the roll should be called ; for he too had been a 
soldier in his youth. The time at last came to test the strength 
of his reliance. Disease and age had palsied the limbs, and 
dimmed the eyes of the most dauntless ranger of the frontier, and 
in an Indian village he is stretched upon his pallet, sick and ready 
to die ; around him have gathered in sorrow, the untutored 
sons of the forest, who loved him for his virtues, and admired his 
skill in the chase, and prowess in battle. Already has gathered 
over his eyes the film of death, and all await the moment of 
approaching dissolution ; wiien suddenly the trapper sprano- from 
his bed, drew himself up erect, folded his arms across his breast, 
and audibly, as if in reply to a call, answered "Here" — and died I 
What a beautiful illustration is this, of the life, character and 
death of General Taylor ; there is in it quite as much of truth as 
of fiction : and now that he is no more, we can only profit by the 
sad event, pay to his UKMnoiy the respect du(> to departed great- 



( '^^ ) 

ness and worth, cherish his name and the memory of his noble 
deeds, and leave him to the quiet and repose of the tomb. We 
may say of him, as was said of another : — 

Lay his sword on his breast ! there 's no spot on its blade, 

In whose cankering breath his bright laurels will fade ; 

'Twas the first to lead on at humanity's call — 

It was stayed with sweet mercy when " glory" was all ! 

As calm in the council as gallant in war, 

He fought for his country, and not its "hurrah !" 

In the path of the hero with pity he trod — 

Let him pass — let him pass — to the presence of God ! 

Follow now as you list ! the first mourner to-day 

Is the nation — whose father is taken away ! 

Wife, children and neighbor, may moan at his knell. 

He was "lover and friend" to his country as well ; 

For the stars on our banner grow suddenly dim ; 

Let us weep in our darkness, but weep not for him ; 

Not for him — who departing, leaves millions in tears ; 

Not for him — who has died full of honor and years ; 

Not for him — who ascended fame's ladder so high, 

From the round at the top, he has stepped to the sky ; 

It is blessed to go when so ready to die. 



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